Apparatus for display or advertising purposes



A. w. WOOD' 2,104,314

APPARATUS FOR DISPLAY OR ADVERTISING .PURPOSES Jan. 4, 1938.

Filed Sept. 4, 1935 INVBNTOR WHITWOOD AHUM ' ATNEMfi Patented Jan. 4, 1938 PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR DISPLAY OR ADVERTISING PURPOSES Anthony White 'Wood, Upper Norwood', London,

England 7 Application September 4, 1935, Serial No. 39,0! In Great Britain September 4, 1934 '7 Claims;

This invention relates to apparatus for display and advertising purposes, the chief object being to provide an improved apparatus particularly 7 but not exclusively for shop windows, show-rooms orthe like by means of which an effective and attractive display or advertisement can be produced by the use of a moving object or objects which can .bedesigned or arranged accordin to the nature of .the display or advertisement.

According; to this invention the. improved display and advertising apparatus comprisesamovable-member onmembers to which a series of movements are imparted in rapid succession so that the member is in a constant state. of: rapid vibratory or; reciprocatory movement in order to cause movementof objects or articles which are adapted-torest'onthe said member. Preferably the movable member is inthe form of a strip that maybe rapidly reciprocated, for example, by a motor or actuating means at-one end against the action of spri'ngsor tensioning means. The said strip maybe made of'anysuitable material and in one example it may be made of cloth or fabric which-may rest on a horizontal or substantially horizontal rigid surface, the said strip being pref- ;erably'connected at one end to the motor or other actuating means whilst at its other end it may be {connected to a tension spring or springs. A plurality of movingmembers or strips, for instance two,ymay.be placed sidebyside and so arranged -.;th a.t thearticles can-move on the strips, preferably in-opposite directions and means may be provided whereby the objects or articles may be transferred from one strip to another. The said iii) strips, may adjoin or be spaced apart at their edges, and insome instances they may overlap at parts ato facilitate the transfer of the articles from; -one stripto another. The articles or objects may be designed torep-resent figures of various kinds and may be. merely pictorial representations, .but in some instances the objects may be snchas to display articles ofwearing apparel, for

instance, life. size figures such as are already in use for displaying wearingv apparel may be employed. The objects or the like may be provided Vwith'basesiof anyfsuitable kind adapted to rest lon' themqvin'g members or strips and on their lower surfaces they may be convex or formed with "i'ais'ed 'or upturned edges to facilitate transfer from one movable strip to another.

ln order that the-invention may clearly understood andreadily carried into effect, the

same wi-ll now'be' more'jfully de'scribed'with. refa erence to the accompanying diagrammatic drawin'g zin'whichz-e 1-2 sion'of the return springs.

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a plan view and a side view illustrating one arrangement of movable member or strip according to the. presentinvention. v

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of part of V the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

I Figures 4 and 5 illustrate details, of a modification inconnection witha driving-motor for actuating the reciprocating strip. 7 w

Figure 6 is a plan view of a modification hereinafter referred to. a

In the example illustrated in Figure 1, two strips are shown, these strips beingindicated by the reference letters A, A Each strip may be constituted by a length or piece of fabric of any suitable kind, and'one end of the strip is secured in any appropriate manner, for example by a clamping orsecuring bar B to a spring or springs C as shown. Each strip may be moved-longitudinally atthe other end against the action of the spring or'springs'by means of any appropriate device and in-the example shown in Figure l, electro -magnets D or the like may actuate an armature or flat bar E to which this end of the strip may be clamped or secured in any appropriate manner, so that the pull or tension on the strip is uniformly exerted. In order to: obtain the reciprocation of the armature E, direct-current'may be broken by a continuous make and break-device, In the case of alternating current, this effect maybe obtainedby eliminating part of the electrical wave, by e ploying any suitable type of eliminator or rectifier, such asdiagrammatically indicated at D D for example. The

stripsrest upon or are disposed on a flat surface .theelectric current is supplied, aseries'of rapid -movements is imparted to the armature bar E by the-electro-magnets, and therefore to the strip, against the action of the aforesaid springs so thatthe strip is maintained in a constant state of rapid reciprocation. This has the effect of causing an article resting upon the strip to move in one mother directionaccording to theten- In some instances the objects orarticles may move towards theactuatring means; but byvarying thetension of the springs the articles can bemoved'in the opposite direction. v 1

' The articles represented by G which are moved along thestrip,:may for instance be designed to represent yarious figures which may be wellknown features in advertising, and they are preferably mounted on bases G which are so formed or constructed as to facilitate movement along the strip and transfer from one strip to another when the strips are arranged side by side. Generally the arrangement is such that the articles or figures G are caused to move along the strip in the direction of the arrow, that is, towards the device or apparatus which imparts the movement to the strip against the action of the springs, but various means or hazards may be provided for causing different movements or different directions of movements. When two strips are employed, they are arranged side by side with their edges preferably in close proximity as shown, and the means for moving one strip may be located at the end opposite to that where the actuating means are provided for the other strip. Means may be provided at each end of the pair of strips for causing the figures to be transferred from one strip to the other so that after a figure has travelled the length or a given distance along one strip, it is caused to move on to the other strip until it is again transferred to the first-mentioned strip. Such transferring means may be in the form of a bar or guide G2 extending across each strip at a suitable inclination which causes the article or figure G when under the influence of the moving strip to' be guided on to the adjacent strip when the base G comes into contact with the strip or guide. Various other transferring means may be provided, and in some instances the strips may overlap at positions where the transfer takes place so as to facilitate the passage from 'one strip to the other. Generally the base G on which the figure is supported has a convex outer or lower surface which facilitates the transfer or passage of the figure from one strip to another. The articles or figures may take various forms according to the particular use for which the apparatus is intended, and in some examples the figures may be designed to serve as supports for displaying gowns or other wearing apparel. The device may also be constructed in connection with advertising to represent various scenes or representations of well-known shops or establishments, and'in one example the arrangement may be such that a shop front or the like may be represented on a screen disposed approximately between the two strips A, A with a door at each to the other strip A located at the back of the screen, which strip A causes the figures to move to the other end where they are again transferred through a door or opening on to the firstmentioned strip A. Many arrangements of this kind can be provided, and are thought to be superfluous to illustrate as they are quite obvious upon mere mention of the same. In some instances the, apparatus may work in conjunction with a musical accompaniment which may be from a loud-speaker, gramophone or the like, and in such cases the figures may partake of movement which may represent dancing.

In some forms of the apparatus, an electric or other motor may be employed, for imparting the necessary movement to the strip, and in such an example the shaft H of an electric motor H may be provided with a cam H which rotates within a slot H or against a ball bearing in a member I-I attached to one end 'of the strip and adapted to be reciprocated by the cam within fixed guides H or the like. Rotation of the motor shaft results in rapid reciprocation of the said member H and the attached strip against the action of the springs, and with an arrangement of this kind which can be supported on the floor of a shop window for example, life-size figures or models displaying gowns or other Wearing apparel can be caused to travel from one end of the strip to the other or in other directions, or in the case of two strips working in opposite directions, the models can be caused to travel in opposite directions as hereinbefore described.

By arranging the figure to travel partly on the reciprocating strip and partly on a stationary surface, it can be caused to revolve as it travels along, but other means may be provided for causing the figures to rotate or partake of other movements during the travel along the strip from end to end. In another construction the apparatus may be mounted within an adjustable frame or structure A that carries the strips and the motors for moving them and such a device may be placed in any appropriate position .and avoids the necessity of attaching any of the parts to existing floors or the like. The arrangement may be such that a series of strips working in opposite directions may be arranged side by side, and by causing the figures to travel along the edges of oppositely moving strips, they can be caused to travel with a rotative movement. In some cases, for instance when comparatively small figures are used, the strip may be caused to move on a glass plate or surface and suitable illumination may be provided at any suitable position and under the transparent glass plate and in such instances the strips may be made of transparent or translucent material. It is to be understood that any fabric from the finest to the stoutest may be used. In a modified construction, the strip or moving member may be reciprocated in directions at right angles,

and any suitable means for this purpose may be provided.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

1. Apparatus for displaying, advertising and other purposes, comprising a strip of flat material disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, drive means attached to one end of said strip and cooperating spring means attached to the other end of the same, a second strip of flat material disposed in parallelism with said first strip in substantially the same plane therewith, drive means attached to the one end of said second strip which corresponds with the end of the first strip to which the spring means are attached, cooperating spring means attached to the other end of said second strip corresponding to the end of the first strip to which the first drive means are attached, said strips being driven in opposite parallel directions by their respective drive means and returned by their respective spring means so as to carry objects in opposite directions on said strips, and means associated with each strip for transferring objects carried upon said strip to the other strip across the adjacent longitudinal edges of said strips. a

2. Apparatus for displaying, advertising and other purposes, comprising a strip of fiat material disposed in a substantially horizontal plane,

'drive means attached to one end of said strip and cooperating spring means attached to the other end of the same, a second strip of flat main substantially the same plane therewith, drive means attached to the one end of said second strip which corresponds With the end of the first strip to which the spring means are attached, cooperating spring means attached to the other end of said second strip corresponding to the end of the first strip to which the first drive means are attached, said strips being driven in opposite parallel directions by their respective drive means and returned by their respective spring means so as to carry objects in opposite directions on said strips, and means associated with solely one end of each strip for causing the transfer of objects carried thereon to the other strip.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means associated with one end of each strip for transferring objects are disposed at the driven ends of said strips.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means associated with one end of each strip for transferring objects comprise stationary deflectors overhanging the respective ends of the strips with which they are associated.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means associated with one end of each strip for transferring objects comprise stationary deflectors overhanging in obliquepositions the respective ends of the strips with which thej are associated.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive means comprises electromagnetic means drawing the strips in opposition to the spring means and includes circuit making and breaking means in order to cooperate with said electromagnetic means in producing the driving effect on the strips.

7. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the drive means include at each driven end of each strip, an operating member attached directly to said driven end, guide means for said operating member, and a cam for actuating said operating member by reciprocating the same along said guide means, there being means for driving said cam. V

ANTHONY WHITE WOOD. 

